Malaysia’s chip industry chief raised his forecast for the nation’s electrical and electronics exports this year to more than RM900bil, as demand fueled by the global artificial-intelligence boom surpassed earlier expectations.

As recently as the second quarter, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai had forecast shipments of more than RM800bil. E&E exports rose to RM711bil 2025 from RM601bil the previous year.

Malaysia’s tech exports jumped 44% in the first seven months of 2026 to about RM564bil, accounting for roughly 48% of the country’s total shipments abroad, according to Wong. Semiconductors make up almost three-quarters of the category.

"With this momentum, it’ll probably breach RM900bil,” this year, Wong, who spent 27 years at Intel Corp., said in an interview Friday. "Everybody is building AI infrastructure at every level.”

The artificial-intelligence boom and a shift in global supply chains are driving Malaysia’s electronics exports higher. Strong demand for semiconductors, servers and data-center equipment has boosted orders for the country’s chip industry, while companies looking to reduce their reliance on China have expanded production in Malaysia. That investment is adding capacity in assembly, testing and packaging and pushing the industry into more advanced parts of the semiconductor supply chain. - Bloomberg